Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Not So Grump
by SquiddlyDiddly
Summary: Dan and Arin decide that they will be playing Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky for their next play through. Arin somehow manages to rip a hole in between dimensions, and they get flung into the nearest dimension; Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. T - Borderline M due to the Grumps mouths.
1. P: I Didn’t Sign Up for This!

**Hey all, it's your boy here, with an idea that's been rolling around in my head for a while. I don't even know how I got it, but I'm pretty sure it was when I had Game Grumps on in the background while I was playing through Explorer's of Sky again. The idea can to me and I thought to myself, 'Hey, that could be pretty good,' and so here we are! I'm not sure if there is a story like this somewhere else, but I'm gonna go on a limb and say that it probably has been done before.**

 **I've got a couple chapters laid out already, and I'm working on a rough outline for where I want this story to go. Hopefully Dan and Arin aren't way OOC, but if they are then I would greatly appreciate any feedback you guys have.**

 **Any who, I hope you guys enjoy my latest story:**

 **Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Not So Grump**

 **Summary: Dan and Arin decide that they will be playing Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky for their next play through. Arin somehow manages to rip a hole in between dimensions, and they get flung into the nearest dimension; Pokémon Mystery Dungeon.**

 **Rated T-Borderline M because of The Grump's mouths.**

 **Prologue: I Didn't Sign Up for This!**

* * *

"ARIN, WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"I DON'T KNOW, MAN! I DON'T KNOW!"

Ah, welcome! If you're just joining us, allow me to explain the confusion...

Dan and Arin, Not So Grump and Grump respectively, were about to play Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky for their next game. The recording equipment was set up, everything was ready to go. Except for one small thing.

Arin somehow managed to create a vacuum portal, and it was currently trying to pull everything within the room into it's pitch-black depths.

So basically, just another normal day in the Grump Office.

"HOW THE FUCK DO WE STOP IT?!" Dan yelled, obviously panicking due to the sudden appearance of said portal. Arin was also panicking, scrambling around the room to try and find something to stop the portal with. "Um, uh... AHA! Take THIS, you son of a bitch!" He yelled, tossing a chair at the portal, hoping that it would get stuck and the portal would collapse.

The chair had other ideas, however, effortlessly getting pulled into the portal. Dan put a hand to his face, sighing audibly. "Really? A chair? Is that the best you can think of?!" He said. "Hey, gimme a break, man, I'm doing my best!" He exclaimed angrily. Dan started to search frantically for something, whisking around the room and rummaging around for anything that could help them. "I know, dude, but we're gonna have to do something better than a fucking chai- WAGH!"

While he was searching and panicking, he didn't notice the multitude of wires connecting to various pieces of equipment, and he tripped and fell onto the floor. "Goddamnit, ow..." He groaned, before another problem made itself prevalent. He started to get pulled by the vacuum portal's immense force, his body getting dragged across the carpeted floor.

"AH, OKAY, ARIN A LITTLE HELP!" He yelled in shock, trying to grab something before he was enveloped completely inside the portal. "Shit shit shit shit!" Arin said, grabbing Dan's arm before he was sent tumbling through the murky depths. "I've got you, man!" He reassured, trying to lower the amount of panicking being done.

That did nothing, however, as a chair that's had been whipped upwards by the portal's tug rammed into his legs, causing Arin's knees to buckle and his hold on Dan to falter. Which meant that...

"AAAAAAaaaaaahh..." Dan screamed as he was pulled through the portal, his voice getting farther and farther away.

Arin was in shock.

"Dan! No! NOOOO!" He yelled in anguish, tears collecting in his eyes. He normally doesn't cry at all, but this was something entirely different. His best friend was gone.

'But not for long!' He thought angrily, a determined look on his face. "I'm comin, Dan!" He yelled into the portal, before letting out a war cry and running full speed into the portal, his cries being carried along the abyss far, far away.

And as soon as it started, it stopped, as the portal disappeared, seemingly satisfied with it's haul. Everything that was being pulled through the portal stopped moving abruptly.

The room was a mess. Furniture flung everywhere, and a ton of games were missing from the Grump collection.

And worst of all, it was quiet. Too quiet. It's as if the world had stopped. As if time itself had stopped marching forward.

Dan and Arin were gone.

* * *

... To another world, that is. While they may be gone from Earth, they landed somewhere that everyone in our world thought was a place of fiction, just a landmark from a video game.

However, the two friends were about to find out that everything is very much real.

* * *

A light breeze wafted through the air...

The sound of ocean waves softly crashing against the shore...

The sun shining down on the beach, it's embrace enveloping it like a warm blanket...

"... Hey..."

'... Wha... what? What's... what's going on?...'

'Why... why is everything... black?...'

"A-are you alright?... please don't be dead..."

'Who... what? Is... someone there?'

'Urk... my head... it's pounding!...'

Something was frantically shaking him, trying to get him to wake. "No no no no no... please wake up... please..." A voice said worriedly.

Dan groaned painfully, his muscles aching and his head pounding. 'Good god... it feels like I've been hit by twenty fucking trucks...'

A loud sigh of relief came from the voice he heard before. "Oh, thank Arceus, you're alive... Are you alright?" It asked him, something prodding his side. He grunted from the contact, his head throbbing. "Urk... I... I hope so..." He replied.

He opened his eyes, then winced from the harsh sunlight, his hand instinctively going to his face to shield his eyes. 'Wait... Sunlight? But I thought I was...'

That's when he noticed something was very wrong with his hand.

Instead of the normal, tan colored arm he and most humans were used to, his arm was now shorter and covered in snow white fur. His hand had been transformed into a dainty paw, fingers nonexistent on his new appendage.

"What the fuck?" He said to himself, his eyes taking over his newly transformed hand. "Hey, over here!" The voice called again, causing Dan to swivel his attention to it's source.

Instead of it being a human woman, like he expected, it was something that most definitely caught him off guard.

It was a Pokémon. An Eevee, to be exact. Something that Dan knew for a fact was a _fictional fucking character in a video game._

The Eevee smiled, seemingly glad that Dan was awake and okay. "Oh, you're awake, good!" She said, relieved. Dan blinked. 'And now Pokémon can apparently _TALK_?! Oh, god, just where in the hell am I?'

"What were you doing passed out on the sand like that? You scared me!" She asked, confused as to why he was lying face down on this strange beach he found himself on.

"Er, well... I... Honestly have no clue... do you think you could tell me where I am?" He asked, still dazed from whatever sent him here. The Eevee smiled. "Sure! You're right outside of Beach Cave, which is located near Treasure Town," she replied. Dan blinked. "Treasure Town? Beach Cave? I've never heard of those places,"

'Just where the fuck am I?' He wondered, starting to get freaked out.

Even the Eevee was looking confused. "You haven't? But... every Pokémon's heard of Treasure Town at some point..."

"But I'm not a Pokémon! I'm a human!" He exclaimed, exasperated. Now the Eevee was definitely confused. "You're a human? But you look like a normal Vulpix to me, at least, an oddly colored one,"

'So that's what I am? I thought Vulpixes were supposed to be red!' He thought to himself, looking over his white furred body. Indeed, it does look like he's been turned into a Vulpix, with six stark white tails flowing behind him. He awkwardly walked over to ocean to try and see his reflection. ' _Woah_...'

He was a Vulpix, that much was certain, but he looked extremely different. Instead of having the red fur he recognized from the games, he had pure, snow-white fur, with deep, sparkling blue eyes. He still had his poofy, curly head of hair. 'Huh. Guess I still have some semblance of me.' He thought to himself, ruffling the messy locks.

"Hmm..." Oh, he almost forgot the Eevee was here. "Well, even if you're rather... strange... you don't seem bad."

"With all the bad Pokémon popping more often, it's getting harder to trust others you don't know. Sorry about that!" She apologized, looking sheepish.

'Bad Pokémon? Hope I don't run into any of those...'

"I-it's fine, I'd probably have the same reaction as you," he assured. The Eevee seemed pleased with that answer.

Then she gasped. "Oh! Where are my manners, I haven't introduced myself!" She exclaimed. She held out a paw. "I'm Aria. Nice to meet you!" She greeted, a friendly look on her face. Dan smiled. 'If everyone was as friendly as her... maybe things won't be so bad here.'

"Nice to meet you, too. I'm Dan."

* * *

 **I know, it's short, but it's just the prologue. The first chapter that I have written is going to be _much_ longer than this. Anyway, I hope I got your attention with this story. Don't forget to leave a review! Again, any feedback is appreciated, especially constructive criticism. Thanks all!**

 _ **UPDATE (9/28/18): Added Line Breaks**_


	2. 1: Learning Curve

**Alright! Prologue's done, now let's start to get into the meat of this story. Starting from this chapter, I'm gonna try to post at least two chapters a month. In advance, I'm sorry if I miss a chapter, since I've got school and work. I'm really into this story right now though, so it should be a steady flow of chapters!**

 **Once again, constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. I'm still trying to improve my writing skills, so any feedback is greatly appreciated!**

 **I don't know about you, but I'm ready to start this first chapter already!**

 ** _DISCLAIMER:_ I don't own Pokémon or the Game Grumps. That'd be pretty cool if I did, though.**

 **Chapter 1: Learning Curve**

* * *

Funny, how right after he thought about how 'maybe things would be okay here' and introducing himself, somebody attacked Aria from behind, pushing her roughly into the sand as she cried out in shock and pain. Dan gasped, rushing to her side. "A-are you okay?" He asked, holding out a paw for her. She nodded, taking hold of his paw. "Yeah... thanks, Dan," She said, grateful for his help.

"Woah-ho! I do beg your pardon!" A voice to the right said, sounding not apologetic in the slightest. Dan looked up to face her attackers, and whaddya know? More Pokémon! A Koffing and a Zubat floated side by side, each with smug looks on their faces, though with Zubat it was hard to tell.

Aria turned, obviously extremely angry, as was Dan. "Hey! That was uncalled for!" She exclaimed, furious at the two culprits. "Heh-heh, that doesn't matter, we wanted to screw with you! Can't face up to us, can ya?!" The Zubat taunted, causing Aria to jump back a little bit. "Wh-what?! What do you mean?!" She demanded, though less confident than before. The Zubat cackled. "That's yours, isn't it?" He pointed towards a smallish rock with a strange pattern on the top. "Ah! That's...!" Aria realized what was in the sand a couple feet away. Dan looked at the rock strangely. 'That's a weird pattern... I wonder what it means?'

"Sorry, not sorry, kiddo, we'll be taking that!" He said, flying down to the strange rock and picking it up. "Aaaah!" Aria exclaimed, watching her item getting taken by these two crooks.

"Woah-ho-ho! You just gonna stand there and let us take it?" The Koffing taunted, smiling smugly at her. "What's the matter? Too scared? I didn't expect that you'd be such a big coward!"

"That does it! I'm not gonna just sit here while you harass her!" Dan yelled angrily, drawing surprised looks from everyone. "What the hell has she done to you to deserve this?!" He questioned.

Koffing and Zubat were surprised, having forgotten that Dan was even there, but then they laughed in his face. "Woah-ho! You got your little boyfriend over here to protect you? Oh, that's rich!" He said, throwing more taunts at Aria. She cringed, a blush rapidly enveloping her face. "That's not... He's not-"

"Heh-heh! You're face says it all, kiddo! You might as well just admit it!" Zubat said, causing Aria to shrink even more into herself. Koffing turned to his teammate. "Come on, Zubat. Let's get outta here. These two aren't worth our time," He said. Zubat nodded, turning back to Aria. "See you around, chicken. Heh-heh-heh." He taunted once more, before him and Koffing flew/floated over to a small cave entrance.

To be honest, Dan was kind of glad he didn't have to fight them. He didn't even know how to use moves! That didn't make him any less pissed, however. "Ugh, those stupid fuckers! I swear, once I get my hands on them they're gonna wish that their moms were lesbian!" He growled, extremely furious.

"...Ooohh..." Aria sighed sadly. Dan blinked, almost forgetting the Eevee was there out of anger. He frowned sadly at her expression. She seemed absolutely heartbroken, and Pokémon or not, it was wrong not to help someone in need. He sighed, walking up to her and placing an arm around her to comfort her. She almost squeaked at the contact, her cheeks gaining a light red touch to them. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop them, Aria... I feel really bad," he apologized.

"N-no, it's fine, you don't have to apologize!" She assured. "At least you stood up to them... I just stood off to the side like a coward..." She lamented, sighing sadly. Dan eyed her sympathetically. She obviously had a lot of self loathing for being scared, but that was natural. "That was my personal treasure... it meant everything to me..." She whispered sadly. Dan stopped his embrace, Aria lamenting the loss of warmth. "Well, what are we waiting for? They went into that cave over there, and unless there's some kind of exit on the other side, we can trap them inside and get your rock back!" He said confidently. Aria blinked, then realized that he was actually correct. "You're right... that's Beach Cave, and it only goes down, so there's no way to escape if we can trap them down on the lowest part of the cave! It's foolproof!" She said, excited that she actually has a chance to get her precious artifact back. Dan beamed. "Then that's what we do! C'mon, we got a couple of fuckers to catch," still smiling, he quickly picked up Aria by the paw and rushed into the cave, dragging her along with him. "WAAAH! DAAAAAN, SL-O-O-W D-O-O-WN!" She yelled, sand getting kicked up behind the two.

* * *

 _... Ughhh..._

 _Wha... what happened...?_

 _Agh, shit, my head hurts like a bitch... did someone get the license plate of the truck that ran me over?_

 _My entire body feels like its wading through tar..._

 _Ah, well. At least it's warm here, I can just lay here until the pain goes away. The grass is very comfortable._

 _... Wait. Grass? Wasn't I in the office?_

I gasped as I remembered what happened, my eyes snapping open as I leapt to my feet. "SHIT! DA-WAA-" I grunted as my face made contact with the floor and I got a mouthful of grass, the bitter, earthy taste filling my tongue. '... This is definitely not the Grump Office.' I realized, my eyes widening in alarm as I took in the sights around me.

Tall trees surrounded me, their leaves and branches filled with apples as they lightly shook from the breeze drifting through the area. The apples were probably the best looking apples I've ever seen, round and colorful, skin crisp and filled with juices. One thing stood out, however. A strange bird was sitting on the branches peacefully, it's eyes closed as it breathed in and out, most likely sleeping.

'Is... is that a fucking Pidgey?'

No way. No fucking way did that fuckin' portal take me to the Pokémon world. This is probably just a dream... a really, really vivid dream...

"Maybe if I just..." I went to pinch my arm to see if that would wake me up, but I paused as I noticed my arm. It was not the regular human arm I was used to. Instead, blue fur covered it all around except for a yellow band around my wrist, almost looking like a bracelet, and my hands had turned into small paws, also covered in blue fur.

"WAAAGH! WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?!" I screamed, jumping up around ten feet in the air before landing disgracefully on the forest floor, eyes still locked on my paw. "No no no no no! No fucking way am I dealing with this shit today!" I yammered. What is even going on?! This doesn't happen! One moment, I'm putting Pokémon: Mystery Dungeon into the DS, then I hear this strange voice that tells me to do a weird button combination, and then me and Dan get sucked into this fucking PORTAL, and then I'm a Pokémon in a different world! What even-

"Oooh. I... probably shouldn't 've put in that combination." I facepalmed angrily. Well, more angry at myself for a being a dumbass. I sighed. "So now what?" I muttered, slowly getting to my feet.

... Only to fall flat on my face again.

I groaned again, angrily this time. "Fucking... UUUUGH." I tried standing again, but this time I got on all fours. "God... fucking... damnit..." I muttered, angry that I have to deal with walking on all fucking fours. Carefully and slowly, I started to walk forwards, but to my surprise, I walked very fluidly. It was almost natural, like I had been a... whatever Pokémon this is all my life. "That's... weird."

The flapping of wings caught my attention, and I turned my head to look at the source. 'Where'd the Pidgey go?' I thought, noticing that the bird that was previously slumbering on the trees was gone. "Probably woke him up from my loud ass screams." I sad to myself.

"Alright, forget the bird! What's my first plan of action in this weird ass world...?" I started to pace as I thought on my plan. I remember playing this game on my own time for a bit before our playthrough, just to get familiar with the controls and what not, and I remember that the main town you live in is called Treasure Town. So maybe, if I can get to Treasure Town, I can have a better chance at finding Dan!

"But where in the hell is Treasure Town?"

Suddenly, a small breeze picked up around me, and something hit me in the face. I flinched back at the unexpected contact. "Agh, Jesus, what the fuck?!" I cursed, angrily ripping the offending piece of paper off of my face.

"Wait... is this a map?"

Indeed it was. It was a map of the land, unfamiliar landmarks scattered across it as I swept my gaze over the strange continent. "... This is way too convenient."

Ah well, I wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I tried to identify which landmark I was currently in. "Let's see... a forest with apples... a forest with apples... Aha! Apple Woods! Alright... and there's Treasure Town... that's a little far..."

I was so focused on trying to figure out how I was going to go from Apple Woods to Treasure Town on my own, that I didn't hear someone running into the clearing, panting tiredly. "Hey!" A voice called out to my right. Blinking in surprise, I looked over, confused. Standing about five feet away from me was this weird jackal Pokémon. It was like a cross between a jackal and a raccoon. It stood on two legs (unlike me...) and was covered in blue fur, except for it's eyes, nose, weird ear-thingies, chest and feet, which were covered in black fur. It's eyes were a stark ruby red, and the black fur surrounding them made it look like it was wearing a mask.

And it looked like it meant business.

"What are you doing here in the forest by yourself?" She said, her stance tense as she eyed me. "With my map?"

"Oh, this is yours? It just kinda hit me in the face as I was sitting here," I replied, trying to stay calm. I don't know any moves, so there's no way I could take her in a fight. She seemed to relax at my response, letting out a sigh of relief. "Wow, almost thought you were one of those bad Pokémon for a second. Sorry about that," she chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. I waved her off. "Nah, it's cool. Name's Arin." He greeted, sticking out a paw, holding back a wince at the sight of it. She grinned. "I'm Jasmine, though everyone just calls me Jazz. Nice to meet you!" She greeted back, grasping my paw and shaking it. "Although, you didn't answer my question. How come you're all the way out here by yourself? Apple Woods is far from 'safe', you know." She asked again, though this time in a less serious manner. Arin paused. 'Hmm... I can't just outright tell her I'm from another world... what should I-'

A strange feeling overtook me, almost like a nagging feeling that I'm forgetting something, something important...

"Oh, shit, right! Uh, well, me and my friend Dan got separated a little while ago, and I don't have a goddamn clue where he is... I was gonna try and head to Treasure Town and start my search there, that's why I was looking at your map." I explained, getting a little sad as I thought about the circumstances. 'I'm in a strange world in a strange body that I don't know anything about, and my best friend is God knows where... Fuck, man, this sucks...'

Jasmine frowned with pity at his expression. "Man, that sounds awful... well, if you're still looking to go to Treasure Town, I can take you lickity split!" She offered. I perked up at that. "Wha- but, how? And why?" I asked, stunned that she would do such a thing. She smiled genuinely. "To answer your first question, my trusty explorer's badge can warp us right back to Wigglytuff's Guild, the guild I work for, in no time!" She pulled out a shiny badge that looked like a silver Pokéball with wings. It glimmered in the sunlight. "And for the second, well, I work with the Guild. It's kinda what we do." She answered happily, tucking her badge away into her knapsack.

I was a bit confused by what she said. Guild? Explorer's badge? Warp? 'How can that tiny badge teleport us out of here?' It was all a little _weird_ for my tastes, but... I couldn't help but feel grateful for the gesture. "... Thank you, Jasmine. Really. I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't run into you," I said, blanching slightly at my sappiness. 'God, I'm only like this around-'

My breath caught in my throat.

'Suzy... oh, God, am I ever gonna see her again?' I hadn't even thought of her. What husband doesn't even think of what his wife will think when she realizes he's gone? Tears collected in my eyes as I fought back a sob. 'Damnit... I didn't even get to start a family with her...'

Then I realized. 'No. I can't get all sad now. I have to focus on the present, and right now I need to find Dan.' I thought, shaking my head to rid myself of the tears. Jasmine noticed this, looking confused at the myriad of emotions I was going through, but shrugged it off, seemingly deciding it wasn't her issue. "Just call me Jazz." She said.

I looked at her, with a smile on my face. "Alright, Jazz. I'm ready to get out of here if you are."

Jazz paused. "Er, well, you see... I kinda have a mission to do here in the forest. My guildmaster really loves apples, and I mean really loves apples, so I'm here to get something called a Perfect Apple from the deepest part of the forest." She explained, smiling sheepishly. I gave her a deadpan look. "And I have to go with you?" She gave me a pleading look. Goddamnit, I really don't want to have to fight anyone... but alright. I sighed. "Will you take me to Treasure Town after?" I asked, giving her a pointed look. She nodded. "Yep! Just gotta complete my mission first. Guildmaster's gonna be waaaay mad if I don't." She said, shivering afterwards. Yeesh. Was this guildmaster guy seriously that terrifying? "Alright, sure. Don't expect me to be much help in a fight, though, I'm not..." I coughed. "I'm not much of a fighter." More like I didn't even know how to fight. Jazz waved me off. "Ah, don't worry about that. I'll handle the fighting right now."

"Oh. Okay, then, what should I do?"

"Just stay behind me and try not to get in the way,"

"Gee, thanks."

* * *

"Dan... can you please... wait before you just... rush into a Mystery Dungeon?" Aria said between breaths, dusting herself off of all the sand. I paused at that. "Mystery Dungeon?" 'What the fuck is a Mystery Dungeon?'

Aria blinked, then looked at me with an incredulous expression. "You... don't know what a Mystery Dungeon is?" She asked, seemingly surprised. I glanced away, embarrassed. "No, should I?" I asked. Aria shook her head. "No, it's fine, but man, you really aren't from around here, are you?" I shook my head in response.

"Well, since we're in one ourselves, I should probably explain what exactly 'one' is. A Mystery Dungeon are these weird dungeon areas that popped up out of nowhere. It's random every time you go into one, so it's impossible to make a map of one, and to top it off, super aggressive Pokémon litter their floors. That's why Exploration Teams exist, to explorer the unknown depths of a Mystery Dungeon!" She explained passionately her eyes shining with wonder. 'Wow, judging by her expression she thinks really highly of these Exploration Teams.' I thought, soaking in her words. She sighed. "It's my dream to be in one someday... but I'm always too much of a coward, I can never work up the courage to go into the guild to apply. And besides, you need two Pokémon to make a team, and I don't know anyone that would form one with me..." She said sadly, staring down at the floor with her ears pressed against her head. I stared at her with pitiful eyes. 'Damnit, she's too fucking adorable to look this sad!... Maybe... maybe I could make an Exploration Team with her after this is all over? I know that I should be looking for ways to get back to my own world, but this just feels like... the right course of action.' I mulled over my options quietly, before coming to my decision. "Well..." I started, getting her attention. She perked up at my voice, staring up at me with curious eyes. 'Fuuuck, she's so adorable.' "... You know me, right?" She blinked, confused. "Y-yeah?" She stammered, her voice wavering with emotion. "Well, you've got someone now, don't you?" I said, a smile on my face as I held my paw out. Aria gasped. "Wait, does that mean..." she beamed, her eyes shining with unfiltered joy. "Y-you want to make an Exploration Team with me?" She asked, sounding extremely happy as she jumped up. 'Aaaaahhh! I can't fucking take how cute she is!' I thought, resisting the urge to squeal. I nodded, my curly fur bobbing slightly. "So what do you say? I don't really know how this whole Exploration Team thing works, but-"

I was cut off by Aria pouncing onto me and enveloping me in a big hug, a huge smile on her as happy tears collected at the bottom of her eyes. "Thank you, Dan! Thank you so much!" She exclaimed happily, nuzzling my face happily. I blushed heavily at the contact. 'This is a bit intimate...' I thought, feeling her body against mine. '... but I don't have a problem with it.' She eventually stopped nuzzling me, and just sat there with her arms around me. "Uh, Aria?"

"Yeah, Dan?" She whispered, her eyes still closed. "... Don't you wanna get your 'personal treasure' back from that assholes?"

"Oh, r-right!" She said, stopping the embrace and jumping to her feet, embarrassment evident on her face. "S-sorry, I was just... happy, heh," she chuckled sheepishly, a blush burning on her cheeks. I laughed as I got up, dusting myself off from when she tackle-hugged me. "Don't worry about, I could tell," I said I'm good nature. She laughed along with me. "Well, let's get going. They couldn't have gone too deep into the cave, so we should be out of here in no time," She said confidently, before starting to march into the cave. I sighed wearily. 'Hopefully, the Pokémon are weak enough here...' I thought, before sterling myself and taking off after her.

* * *

 **Beach Cave**

 **B1F**

* * *

Aria took a deep breath to calm her nerves, before turning to Dan. "Alright, let's find the exit to the next floor. It should be in one of the open rooms in this floor, so let's explore each one together until we find it," Aria said. I raised my hand. She blinked confusedly. "Uh, yeah Dan?"

"Question, what happens when we run into a Pokémon?"

Now she looked even more confused. "We... fight it? What else?" She explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which it probably was. "Isn't there a more... non-violent option where we use diplomacy instead?" I pushed, trying my hardest to avoid fighting for now, at least until I figured out how to use moves. She shook her head incredulously. "Wha- no! These Pokémon will not listen to reason, only wanting to fight you. Nobody knows why, and trust me, Pokémon have tried talking some sense into them, but nothing works. They only wish to hurt others, so all we can do is fight." She explained. "Why do you want to go the peaceful route with them?"

I blushed and looked away, embarrassed. "... I can't fight..." I mumbled quietly. Aria perked her ears up. "Huh? What'd you say? Sorry, you mumbled," She said. I blushed harder. 'This is embarrassing...' "I said... I... I can't fight..." I said again, louder this time. Aria mouthed an 'Ohhh'. "That's why you didn't want to fight," she realized. I looked at the ground, ashamed. 'Why am I here if I can't even help? God, I feel like a fucking dumbass...' I thought. Aria eyed me with pity. "Hey, that's alright! Tons of Pokémon can't fight, so I'll teach you! I'm no expert, mind you, but I taught myself a few things, hoping I would be an in a Guild one day. So just follow my lead, alright?" She said. I eyed her gratefully. "Thanks, Aria. I'm ready when you are," I replied. She smiled excitedly. "Alright, let's explore our first Mystery Dungeon as an Exploration Team!" She mimicked a crowd's cheer. I laughed, before following her into the depths.

We walked through a couple rooms, but only found a seed ('Seeds that explode? Remind me to look at the label before eating a bag...') and some coins on the ground ("Free money?! Man, I'm liking this job more and more!"). The third room, however, is when I got my first look at the Pokémon I would have to fight.

Aria stopped abruptly, and I stopped behind her, wondering why we stopped moving. "Uh, is something wrong Aria?" I asked, confused. She moved out of the way, and I saw what she stopped for. Two Pokémon stood in the room before us, one sleeping, and one passing through. "That's what's wrong." She said. The gears in her mind started turning, churning out a quick plan. "Alright, since you need battle experience, you take the sleeping Shelder, and I'll take the Shellos, got it?" She rattled off, pointing towards the respective Pokémon as she talked. Dan nodded apprehensively, eying the weird shell thing warily. "Okay, let's go team!" She said before rushing out and tackling the Shellos full speed, sending it flying a few feet backwards. It quickly got up, however, and started to spray mud around the room. Aria, however, dodged the wet splotches of mud expertly, and quickly tackled the Shellos once more, sending it flying into the wall, swirls in it's eyes. "Whew! He was tough," she said, wiping off some stray mud with her left paw, before turning to me. "Alright, now your turn. It's still sleeping, so it should be easy!" She said, running behind me and pushing me forward. "Er... okay..." I said nervously, gulping before starting to carefully walk towards the weird shell. What do I even do here? Do I just... try to breath ice or something? I do look like an ice type...

Desperate, I looked deep inside myself, hoping to get a feeling of what I was supposed to even do. Then, I felt it. A strange overwhelming feeling, it felt... instinctual. Primal. It felt... cold.

I got the overwhelming sense that I needed to open my mouth, and as I did so, something welled up inside my throat, and a split second later, a freezing cold wind bellowed out of my mouth, shooting straight towards the shell thing. As soon as it came into contact with it, it was completely frozen solid along with the ground around it. Me and Aria was silent for some time. Until I jumped up into the air and whooped. "Woahohoho! That was fucking awesome! Did you see that shit Aria?" I exclaimed happily, turning to my new teammate and seeing her wide eyed and open mouthed. I looked at her with a smirk on my face. "Woah... and you said you 'can't fight'? I beg to differ! That was an extremely powerful Powder Snow, if a little unrefined, but still, wow, Dan! I'm impressed!" She praised, a light blush on her face. I kept smirking. "I know, I know, it's hard being the best, but here I am," I joked, eliciting a chuckle from Aria. "Well, hotshot, let's go find the next floor, alright? Should be around here somewhere..." She said, walking through another one of the small tunnels that probably connected to another room. Stealing one last glance at the frozen creature, I quickly followed her as well. 'Sorry, shell guy!'

* * *

 **Beach Cave**

 **B2F**

* * *

We eventually found the entrance to the second floor, which was a small hole that they could barely fit through. It took a little preparing for me to work up the courage to jump down the hole. ("Why don't I jump down first to see if it's safe for you?" "No! I can do this, I'm not five!") The second floor went pretty smoothly. We explored some of the rooms, finding nothing but a few coins, and fighting a couple Pokémon as well. I was having fun testing out the capabilities of my... what did Aria call it?... Uh, Powder Snow. I learned that as soon as it makes contact with anything, it freezes whatever that thing was solid. This made for some cool arenas for battling, with the surrounding area frozen almost made it like a coliseum. Eventually we found the exit, no problemo. The rest of the floors went relatively the same, until we finally reached the last floor, where we met with those stupid assholes to kick the shit out of them. Fuckers...

* * *

 **Beach Cave Pit**

 **B5F**

* * *

"Oh, man, this is exhilarating! And we get to do this all the time as an Exploration Team?"

"Yup! Isn't it amazing?"

"You can say that again!" I replied eagerly.

Aria suddenly stopped, and her eyes narrowed. She growled under her breath. I blinked, turning to look at what she saw, then I almost growled as well. The... gas ball and the bat, (I think Koffing and Zubat?) were floating in the air in front of us, their backs turned to us. "Alright. It's payback time." I muttered, preparing a Powder Snow. "Wait-Wait! Maybe we can solve this without violence," she said. I grumbled, cancelling the attack. She turned to the two assholes, then took a deep breath as if preparing herself. "Er... hey!" She yelled, grabbing the two's attention. "Eh?" The Zubat said, him and his friend turning to face us. Koffing laughed. "Well, if it isn't the big chicken and her boyfriend!" He taunted, chuckling to himself. I glared daggers at the stupid purple bitch. "Urk!" Aria grunted, before shaking herself off and taking another step forward, looking even more determined. I was right there beside her. "G-give me back my personal treasure! It means everything to me!" She yelled angrily. Zubat seemed to raise a nonexistent eyebrow at that. "Ooh... a treasure, eh?" He said to Koffing. The gas ball hmmed. "This thing could be worth more than we thought," he replied, before turning back to Aria. "We could sell it for a decent price somewhere." He starting laughing. "All the more reason to not give it back! Woah-ho-ho!" He taunted once more.

I growled at him. "Fine! If you won't fucking give it back, we'll take it!" I yelled a battle cry before quickly spewing a powder snow straight at the them. It nicked Zubat in the wing, freezing the tip of it solid. "Waagh!" He yelled, quickly shaking off the ice before he plummeted to the ground from the uneven weight. I nodded at Aria. "Let's do this! Together, they don't stand a chance!" I said to her. She looked at me gratefully, eyes shining. "Right!" She said, determined. She quickly ran towards Zubat while he was distracted, landing a direct hit with her tackle. The bat crashed into the sand with a thud, and he groaned in pain. Koffing looked at us with surprise, before coming at us with his own attack, ramming into Aria and sending her flying. "Ugh!" She grunted, rolling across the sand before jumping back up. "You okay?" I asked. She nodded, running back into the fight. She jumped to tackle him again, but he had the height advantage, floating to the side and dodging quickly. 'Damnit... he's too high, we'll never get him from up there!' I quickly tried to think of a plan, mulling over whatever we have that could take him out. 'Wait... didn't Aria say that seed we found would trigger an explosion if it impacted something hard enough?... I've got it!'

"Aria! Throw me the seed!" She looked at me, before her eyes widened and nodded, tossing the plain looking seed to me. I caught it deftly in my mouth. "Distract him! I've got a plan!" I ordered. She nodded once more, rushing after Koffing. He kept dodging, but that was what I was waiting for. I quickly sprayed a Powder Snow on the ground, creating an icy platform I could jump off of. Taking the seed in my paw, I dashed onto the ice and kicked off of it, sailing through the air towards Koffing. He dodged one more attack from Aria... right towards me. "Forget about me, FUCKHEAD?!" I yelled, throwing the seed full force at his face. I watched with satisfaction as the seed violently exploded, blowing him to the ground next to Zubat. Then I land on my face.

Aria ran over to me, helping me to my feet. "Dan! Are you alright?" She said, scanning my body for injuries. I breathed heavily, adrenaline coursing through my body. "That. Was. Fucking AWESOME!" I yelled, whooping as I hugged Aria with happiness. She gasped lightly at the contact, then hugged me back, laughing along with me. We eventually broke the hug up, still smiling and laughing. "Dan... I can't believe you didn't know how to fight before this! You're a natural!" She praised, causing me to blush. "Aw... you're just saying that," I said bashfully, waving her off.

"Ow ow ow ow ow..." 'Oh, fuck, I forgot that they were there,' I thought to myself, turning to face the two assholes. Zubat groaned as he started to fly once more, though a little more wobbly than before. Koffing soon followed, a pained expression on his face. "Ugh... I can't believe we were beaten by these wimps!..." Zubat said. Koffing scoffed. "Dang... how did we get wiped out by them?" He spat angrily. I smirked. "Maybe you guys just suck balls. Now, if you could just..." I cleared my throat obnoxiously and held out my paw, moving my eyes from the bat to my paw to emphasize what he was supposed to do. Zubat growled under his breath. "F-fine! Take it, then!" He hastily said, tossing the small rock in the sand at our feet. Aria gasped at the sight of it, probably very happy to get it back. 'That's right, who's the best? We are!'

"Woah-ho! Don't feel so awesome after that. Your victory was just a fluke! Pure luck!" Koffing said, though it sounded like he was more trying to convince himself more than anything. Zubat nodded in agreement. "Yeah! You remember that next time!" And with that, they quickly fled behind us, zooming out of the exit behind us. "Yeah, that's right! Run and don't come back, assholes!" I yelled. Aria laughed at that, before running over to her personal treasure and putting in this little knapsack she had. It was probably big enough to fit one item, that item being the treasure. "C'mon, let's get out of here. I'm getting tired of water already."

 **Mission Clear!**

I sighed in relief as we finally exited the small cave and hit fresh air again, reflexively taking in a deep breath as I took in the smell of the sea. "Ah... I'm so glad we're out of that stuffy cave..." Aria said, shaking her 'mane' out. I couldn't help but agree. It was surprisingly humid in the cave, and I'm pretty sure my hair- er, fur, was all frizzy now. "You can say that again," I agreed. Reaching into her little knapsack again, Aria pulled out the strange rock we retrieved from the two thieves. "So this is your personal treasure?" I asked, eying the little thing curiously. 'It's so... dull.' Aria nodded, placing the rock on the sand. That's when I noticed the strange pattern on the top. It was actually quite beautiful. It looked like four crowns protruding out of a central circle, with some wispy lines separating them. "Woah... that's weird..." I breathed. Aria's eyes shined. "It's so mysterious, right? This is the reason I want to start an Exploration Team! I can't help but feel like this strange patterned rock means something more than just some coincidence. I want to get out there in the world. I want to figure out the mystery of my treasure!" She exclaimed excitedly. I had to admit, I was curious just where this rock was from...

Then she sighed sadly. "But I could never do it. I could never work up the courage to go into Wigglytuff's Guild, so I just waited, hoping that one day something would happen and I could finally get the courage to do it..." She paused there, looking up at me. "And then I met you, Dan."

I blinked at my name. I was so entranced by the pattern that I didn't know she was talking to me. I looked up, and I saw Aria's happy face and her tear filled eyes. "Thank you, Dan. I've just met you and you've already done so much for me." She quickly enveloped me in a hug, happy tears soaking my fur. My eyes widened, then I returned the hug. "You're welcome, Aria. I'm just doing what any other Pokémon would do, and that's the right thing." I said, patting her on the back. 'Gaaaahhh, I'm gonna have a goddamn heart attack from so much feels!'

We stood there for a couple more minutes. Then a couple more. '...I'm gonna have to say something, aren't I?'

"Uh... Aria? Don't you want to go to this 'Wigglytuff's Guild' place?"

Aria gasped, then quickly jumped back, her face pretty much completely red. "R-right... s-sorry," she apologized, looking at the ground and shuffling her feet. "You are so fucking cute." I muttered.

Aria blinked. "What was that?"

"N-nothing!... Let's just go to the guild,"

* * *

 **Arin's POV**

"So, how much farther do you have to go to get these Perfect Apple things?" I asked, looking around at the multitude of apples. Hell, these looked like perfect apples to me. Not a single bruise or scratch on any of them, all of them perfectly red and round. What makes a 'Perfect Apple' perfect? Jazz shrugged. "I dunno, supposedly it's taste is so sweet and succulent, that one bit alone is enough to get you hooked. I'm fine with regular apples, though. They're easier to find and still really good," She explained, hopping over a fallen branch. I coughed. "And, uh, just how far do we have to go to get these apples?" She put a hand to her chin. "Probably... just a over a mile? Shouldn't take too long," she said, before continuing her walking through the forest. I stopped. 'A mile? Oh, fucking hell, you've got to be fucking me, dude.'

A sigh. Might as well get going...

* * *

 **Apple Woods**

 **10F**

* * *

For the first few minutes, everything was relatively calm. The breeze swayed the trees, and I could faintly hear some birds chirping from far away. I did find some strange coins on the ground. They were round, made with what looked like solid gold, with a capital P engraved on the top. Before I could inspect it further, however, Jazz spoke up. "Oh, you found some Poké! Nice find," she commented. I was about to revel in the praise cause I'm awesome like that, but she snatched the coins out of my grasp and stuffed them in her little satchel. "Hey, wha- what the hell, man?! I fucking found that shit!" I said angrily, my voice rising slightly. She raised her hands at my tone. "Woah, calm down, Arin, I'm just holding onto these cause you don't have anywhere to hold them, no need to get defensive," she said, trying to calm me down. I sighed. 'I really need to keep my temper in check here... she is the one helping me, after all,' "Sorry, Jazz, I'm just... I'm not having a good day at all." I said with a huff. She chuckled. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

We continued onward for a couple more minutes, the silence once agin filled with the sounds of the forest. Until, "Woah!" Jazz yipped, dodging out of the way of a web shot by a new adversary in our path. The web, in turn, hit me right in the fucking face. Jazz laughed as she landed. "Whew! And I was starting to get bored on this mission. You alright, Ar-Arin?" She started to ask, then I'm pretty sure she saw my expression as I ripped the web off of my face.

Cause I. Was. PISSED.

"You fucking," I took a step forward. The Pokémon that shot the web, a Caterpie, looked unsure of what it has done. Jazz looked at me with surprise and a little bit of apprehension. "Uh... Arin..." She said, faltering slightly at the fury of my expression. I didn't pay attention to her, just focusing my glare on the small bug in front of me as I continued to walk towards it. "cocksucking, web-slinging motherFUCKER! You wanna fuck with ME?! Don't fuck with me, you piece of SHIT! I'll fucking stab your PARENTS!" I ranted, my voice rising in volume with each sentence, until the very last word, where out of nowhere lightning shot from body, and encased the bug in thousands of volts of electricity. I didn't know what I was doing, but I was hurting this goddamn Caterpie, so I must be doing something right. I eventually grew tired from releasing so much electricity, and I stopped it's flow, panting from the exertion of so much power. 'Geez... I got carried away there...' I thought, looking at the charred, unconscious Caterpie. Jazz cautiously walked up to me and put her paw on my shoulder. "... You all good now?" Ah asked, her eyes wide at my display. I nodded slowly. "Y-yeah... sorry," I apologized, looking up at her with tired eyes. She shook her head. "N-no, don't be! Just... remind me to never piss you off. Ever. You reminded me of Wigglytuff for a second there," she said, shivering again. I laughed. "Well, now we know I can help fight, right?" She nodded in response. "That's for sure. C'mon, we're almost there." She said. We continued our trek forward through the forest, the Caterpie we left behind twitching slightly from the electricity coursing through it.

* * *

"Hey Arin?"

I blinked. "Yeah, what's up?"

Jazz paused for a second. "Where did you get such a... er, 'colorful', vocabulary?" She asked, remembering what I yelled at the Caterpie back there. I grinned sheepishly at that. "Oh, uh, that's... kinda just how I talk, heh," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. She smirked. "I can see that. Just... try to keep it in check when around others in Treasure Town. They aren't used to language like that," She explained. I nodded. "What's Treasure Town like, anyway? Are the Pokémon cool there?" I asked. I remember some of it from the time I played before we got sent here, but not much. Jazz smiled at that. "Treasure Town is really... homey. Everyone's super friendly, and it feels like you're part of one big family. You'll get to know everyone sooner or later. Except for Duskull." She shivered. "Still don't know anything about that guy..."

Arin made a mental note to stay away from this Duskull guy. "Huh. That sounds really nice."

* * *

The rest of our little trip went on without a hitch. We encountered the occasional Pokémon, but it was usually just a Caterpie or some other weak variation. We did encounter a Beedrill, but it didn't take kindly to electricity so it was easily defeated. I was a little reluctant to actually fight it, cause... it's Beedrill, man! I fucking love Beedrill! But I had no choice, and I just kept shooting it with lightning til it stopped fighting. ("I'm so sorry, Bundt!")

Jazz hopped over a large rock. "The Perfect Apple tree should be just up ahead, let's go!" Jazz said excitedly, beckoning me forward.

I gasped and panted for breath as I ran to keep up with her. 'I... really need... to get into shape...' "Finally... let's get these and get out," I groaned, also hopping over the rock. "Yes! We finally found it!" Jazz exclaimed excitedly, whooping with glee as she ran to the admittedly huge tree. "Woah... this thing's almost as big as our office," I said under my breath. It was a beautiful tree, it's many branches dancing in the wind, as if telling us to come and take some of it's wonderful bounty. And what a bounty it was. Apples twice the size of the apples I saw in the forest hung heavily from the tree, glistening from the cool dew. "Look at the size of them!" I breathed, my eyes wide. Jazz nodded. "Yep. Isn't it something?"

I nodded mutely. Jazz smiled at the look on my face before she turned back to the tree, cracking her knuckles. "Alright... let's get to work!" She said, before charging at the tree's wide trunk with cry and striking it hard with her foot, the force reverberating throughout the tree and causing it to shake wildly. I looked at her strangely. "Wha- why did you do that?! Can't you just climb up the tree?" I asked. This is a really cool tree, and I'd hate to see it damaged by Jazz's continuous kicking. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Unless you've got really sticky hands, I'd like to see you try and climb this trunk. It's really slick for some reason, so the only way to get the apples is to strike it's trunk. Don't worry about it getting damaged, it's been around for years, and other Pokémon have come here to get apples many times and it's in the same condition as it was when it first stood." She explained, rubbing her paw along the wood as she did so. My brow furrowed. "Well... Alright." I said, sitting back and letting her do what she does best. Bringing her paw back, Jazz once again cried out and struck the tree hard with her palm. The tree shook more this time. She sighed. "One more should do the trick," she brought back her paw once more, and struck the tree dead center. At first, the tree just shook again. But then, Apples began to tumble down from it's branches, surrounding them with the red orbs. Jazz smiled at her handiwork. "A job well done." She said, dusting off her paws. I was tempted to pick one up and eat it, but I paused, deciding against it. 'She needs these for her mission. Besides, there are plenty of other, normal apples back in the forest.' I smirked as she walked over. "Alright, we got these apples, we should be done, right?" Jazz nodded. "Yup! Just help me put them into my explorer's bag here, and we're good to go." She said, picking up one of the huge apples and putting into her bag. I did a double take. "Wait, how did that apple even fit in there? It's twice the size of your bag!" I exclaimed, confused. It didn't even look like the apple was in there anymore, just a normal bag. Jazz blinked, before glancing at her bag. "Uh, to be honest? I have no clue... I kinda just went with it." She responded, shrugging. I looked at her incredulously. 'How do you just shrug off something like that?! That's straight up Harry Potter bullshit!'

A loud thud brought me out of my thoughts. Then a second one made me look around with alarm. Jazz was doing the same thing, whipping her head around to find the source of the stomping. "Uh... what was that?" I asked nervously. She didn't answer for a second, before gulping. "I have no idea... but it doesn't sound good..." she whispered, lowering herself into a fighting stance. We waited for any sign of movement, but none came. The stomps had stopped too. Jazz sighed wearily. "M-maybe we're just hearing things, we should get back," she said reaching into her pouch for her Explorer's badge. Then, the trees burst open, and a loud roar sounded throughout the clearing, knocking us on our feet. Jazz quickly jumped up to face our new adversary, before her eyes widened and jaw dropped. I scrambled onto my feet clumsily. "Alright, where's this motherfuuuuuuck..." I trailed off when I see who we were about to fight. It was an Exeggutor, and a big one at that. It stood a good three feet above us, and it looked down at us with fury in it's eyes. "WHO HAS DISTURBED THE GREAT TREE?!" It roared. Arin cringed at the volume. "Jazz! You never said anything about giant fucking palm trees!" I whispered angrily to her. "I-I wasn't told about this! I thought it was going to be an easy operation!" She whispered back worriedly, her eyes trained on the Exeggutor. "YOU TWO HAVE INCURRED THE WRATH OF US, THE TREE GUARDIAN!" It roared once more, before charging at us like a freight train, it's feet crashing against the ground with heavy thuds. "SCATTER!" Jazz cried, before running to the left quickly. 'You don't have to tell me twice!' I thought before quickly running to the right of the giant palm tree. I shot thundershock at it, but it didn't seem to do anything, only make it more agitated with me. "YOU DARE, YOUNG ONE?!" It yelled, before quickly turning and whipping me hard with it's tail, sending me flying into a tree. I cried out in pain when I hit it hard, pain exploding on my back and head where he hit. I groaned, my head throbbing and tears stinging my eyes. 'Fuck fuck fuck, that fucking hurt... gah...' I thought, slowly getting to my feet and groaning. "Arin!" Jazz yelled, quickly rushing over to me and tackling me out of the way. A rush of air behind us told me that I was moments away from possibly dying. 'That's a scary thought...' Jazz quickly ran to the other side of the arena with me and her arms. The Exeggutor got his tail stuck in a tree, so we had time. Jazz panted heavily. "A-are you alright?" She said, placing a paw on my head. I sucked the air through my teeth, hissing in pain. "Fuckfuckfuckfuck..." I muttered through breaths. Her brow furrowed with worry. "A head injury... can you still fight?" She asked, her voice shifting back to serious. I nodded back almost immediately, trying not to audibly groan as I got back on my paws. 'I don't really have a choice right now. It's fight or die.'

"You know I can," I replied confidently. She smiled at that. "That's what I like to hear." She looked behind her and saw that the Exeggutor still has its tail stuck in the Perfect Apple tree, though it was very close to getting it out. Seeing this, Jazz quickly dig into her bag and pulled out a maroon seed, it's top almost like a thorn. She held it out to me. "Here, eat this." I blanched at that, looking at the weird seed. "Wha- what's a seed gonna do?!" I whispered incredulously. She rolled her eyes. "Just do it!"

I hesitated, before taking the seed and quickly shoving it into my mouth to get it over with. It tasted almost... meaty, and wo-HOAH, that's fucking spicy! I quickly swallowed the flaming seed and stuck out my tongue, my tastebuds burning. "What the thuck did you just vake ve eat?!" I exclaimed, my tongue still sticking out. She rolled her eyes. "Just suck it up, alright? I have a plan." I perked up at that, and looked at pointedly. "I'm going to go in and weaken him since I'm faster. You stay back. Then when I say now, you jump in and unleash everything you've got into one thundershock, got it?" She asked. I shook my head. "But I tried that, and it did nothing to him!" I countered. She just smirked. "That's what the seed was for." Before I could ask what she meant by that, she quickly got up and ran. "Just trust me!" She called before getting into hand-to-hand combat with the Exeggutor. 'The seed? What would that even do?'

I didn't get any answer to my question, however, so all I could do was sit back and wait for the signal Jazz would give me while she fought with the Exeggutor. And she was amazing. Dodging and weaving in every possible direction, landing quick blows then moving out of the way of a flying tail or a heavy kick from her opponent. 'She's definitely no pushover...' I thought to myself in awe. At first, those small, fast hits she was landing didn't seem to have any effect. But I noticed that the Exeggutor was getting more sluggish and desperate, the attacks weren't as calculated as they were before. With one last kick, the Exeggutor was knocked over onto its back with a roar, landing with a loud thud. It struggled to get back on it's feet. With no arms, I imagine that's pretty hard to do. 'Sucks to suck, bud,'

Jazz quickly turned to me and yelled, "Arin, NOW!"

Not knowing if this would work or not, I hesitated for a moment. 'This better work...' I thought to myself nervously, before I shot out of the bush I was hiding in (Heh.) and yelled out, "TAKE THIS, YOU ASSHAT!" And unleashed everything I had into one lightning attack. I was almost knocked back from how much force was behind the bolt, the entire stream was enveloped in almost an aura power, glowing blue with energy. It shot like a bullet towards the fallen Exeggutor, who could do nothing but watch as the lightning bolt neared closer and closer, until...

"...OH, ARCE-" It screamed out in pain when the attack made contact, it's body shaking and convulsing from the amount of volts being pumped into it's body. I didn't let up, trying to hold onto the attack for as long as I could, wanting to make sure that this fucker stayed down. 'This is what happens when you mess with Arin motherfucking Hanson, bitch!' I thought to myself angrily, letting out a cry of defiance before I pumped up the attack even further beyond what I thought I was capable of, the bolts of electricity glowing brighter with even more power flowing through them. The Exeggutor was in massive pain, barely holding onto consciousness, before with one last groan, it fell to the ground, completely knocked out. I noticed this and quickly reeled in the attack, gasping and panting from the exertion.

The battlefield was completely scarred. Small fires littered the now dead grass. The grass, which was once a luscious green, was now a burnt dark brown, scorch marks littered the area. Trees had their entire front have burnt into a crisp, apples now just burnt black orbs. It looked like a small nuke had gone off in the area. The only thing not scarred by the destruction was the Perfect Apple tree, which still stood just as tall as it did before, not a scratch in it. 'Wait... didn't the Exeggutor get it's tail stuck in it? What happened to that?' ... Now to add magical trees to my list of new stuff...

I struggled to catch my breath, the adrenaline starting to wear off and my exhaustion catching up with me. 'That... was fucking... awesome...' I smiled widely and laughed lightly, staring down the Exeggutor. "But you felt that... huh asshole?" I taunted weakly. "Arin!" I blinked, turning to see Jazz running towards me. "A-are you alright? You don't look good at all..." she said, looking me over for injuries once more. I grimaced. "Lemme tell ya... I could certainly... be better..." I responded. She shook her head. "Arin... what were you thinking? When I said 'everything you've got', I didn't mean to almost kill yourself over one Exeggutor!" She admonished. I looked away sheepishly. 'I did get carried away again, didn't I? Damn... I need to learn self control with these attacks I have now,' I thought, looking down at my paws covered in the scarred earth. Jazz sighed. "Well... you did get the job done, suppose... a little too well, actually," she said, looking around at the destruction. "Well... at least we can go back now... right?" I asked, hoping she got enough apples to complete her mission. Jazz smiled, and then nodded. "Yep! I've got enough for Wigglytuff. Good job, Arin! I..." she paused for a second. "I honestly don't think I could've done this if I didn't find you here," she thanked, grateful for my help. "So, thanks. Really."

I smirked. "Hey, what are friends for? Helping you get free food, that's what," Jazz chuckled at that. "Alright, let's get out of here, you joker." She said, reaching into her bag and pulling out her Explorer's Badge. She held out her arm. "Grab hold," she directed. I followed, grasping her arm with mine. "Alright, to the guild!" She exclaimed, before touching the center gemstone of the badge. And with a bright flash of light, we were suddenly yanked, and I mean yanked, from the forest. I yelled out in shock as we warped out, the unusual sensation taking me by surprise. It felt like I was being pulled and twisted, my body contorting. It wasn't necessarily painful, it just... did not feel right at all.

With the two new friends gone, the forest was once again quiet.

"... _Hm. It seems that I may have made the right decision in bringing these two here._ "

An ethereal voice wafted through the winds. An imposing figure, it's fur pure like the clouds in the sky walked out of the foliage with an almost godlike pose, giving off a regal air as it slowly moved forward. It walked up to the fallen Exeggutor. " _So, he passed your test of strength, hm?_ " The being asked. The Exeggutor flashed with a pink light, and started to morph into a much smaller, almost cat-like form. The light burst, revealing two shining blue eyes and bright pink fur. It zipped around the larger being, before nodding rapidly. " _Yup! With flying colors, too!_ " It replied in an excited, high pitched voice. The larger goat-like being smiled. " _Good, good. There might be hope for this world yet,_ " it said happily. The pink cat nodded. " _They sure did a number on me, that's for sure,_ " it said, shaking off the dust from the ground.

The goat chuckled light heartedly, it's deep tenor was enough to warm the hearts of even the coldest souls. " _I can see they 'did a number' on the surrounding area as well._ " It said. Suddenly, the golden ring surrounding it's waist began to glow, and a burst of light enveloped the scarred earth. The light seemed to reverse any damage done to the area, grass sprouting quickly and growing to a respectable height, the trees regaining their healthy bark and leaves, apples hanging easily from the branches once more. It was like a battle had never even took place in the forest at all. The Perfect Apple Tree almost seemed to sway with happiness, thankful for the goat-being's help. " _Come now, Mew. We must make preparations,_ " The being said. Mew nodded before happily following, leaving the forest back in it's peaceful state.

* * *

 **And there's the first chapter! Hopefully the length was enough to get this story going. I hope to keep it this length from this point forward. If you have any thoughts, I'd be very grateful if you left a review! Constructive criticism or what you think of this story so far is greatly appreciated. If the Grumps or any of the coming guild members are out of character, _please_ tell me. That's the one thing I'm desperately trying to avoid.**

 **I hope to have chapter 2 done sometime in the next couple weeks or so, so stay tuned for that. But for now, this is SquiddlyDiddly, signing off.**

 _ **UPDATE (9/28/18): Fixed formatting and added lines. Some parts were just huge blocks of texts, so I hope this makes it a tad easier to follow.**_


	3. 2: The New Recruits

**Hey everyone, it's your boy, SquiddlyDiddly, back with the second chapter of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Not So Grump!**

 **I am very happy with how this chapter turned out, so I hope you guys enjoy this installment. If you like the story, leave a favorite and a review, if you please!**

 **Now for the next chapter in:**

 **Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Not So Grump**

 **Chapter 2: The New Recruits**

* * *

I looked at the big tent apprehensively. 'What kind of ego maniac makes a tent out of their own face?' I thought, looking at the thing's creepy eyes nervously. Aria sighed shakily, nerves evident in her posture. "A-alright... today's the day..." she said, though mostly to herself, trying to calm her nerves. "I've got Dan with me now... this is gonna be great, and we'll be a great Exploration Team..." She muttered, starting to pace just in front of the grate that sat innocently in the ground. "A-Alright... let's do this!" She exclaimed confidently.

Staring down the grate, she very, very carefully placed one paw on the grate, and then...

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

Aria jumped back at the voice, and I jumped a little too. 'Wait, was somebody down there?! What even was this grate for?' I wondered to myself. Aria, tried to control her breathing, taking deep, slow breaths. "No... I need to do this. I need to be strong..." She said to herself, slowly regaining her determination. 'Damn... she really wants this.'

With newfound courage, she daintily stepped onto the grate, with all four paws this time around. The same voice rang out; "Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" I cringed at how annoying it was. 'Geez, I wouldn't want to listen to that all day,'

Another voice, this one deeper in tone and much louder, said, "Who's footprint? Who's footprint?" '... Nevermind. I wouldn't want to listen to that all day.'

Oh, if only I knew.

The first voice came up again. "The footprint is Eevee's! The footprint is Eevee's!" Aria cringed back when they mentioned her species, but she shook her head, steeling herself on the grate. There was silence for about a minute. "... Alright! You're through!" Aria sighed in relief as she gratefully (Ha, get it?) bounded off of the grate, turning to me and beaming. "We know you have a friend with you!" The louder voice yelled. "They have to get identified too!"

I blanched. "How did they... they can't even see me!" I exclaimed, looking to Aria for any source of understanding. She looked just as confused as me, however, as she shrugged. "C'MON! We don't have all day!" The voice boomed. I looked nervously at the grate before reluctantly stepping onto it.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" The annoying one said again. I absentmindedly flicked my ears. 'Goddamn, do they say that everytime?'

"Who's footprint? Who's footprint?"

My ears flicked again.

"The footprint is... the footprint... uh..."

I was starting to get irritated.

"Maybe Vulpix's! Maybe Vulpix's!" He called back. "MAYBE?! What do you mean MAYBE?" The loud one yelled.

Jesus, they're like a bickering old couple... I chuckled. Kind of like me and Arin.

"Er, well... th-there aren't many Vulpixes around here! I'm not sure!" The first one responded, obviously embarrassed. The loud one growled angrily. "You SHOULD be SURE! It's your JOB after all!"

The smaller voice sighed.

Aw, man, now I felt bad for the first guy!

There was a pause. Me and Aria just stared at the grate, confused. "... FINE. You don't SEEM bad, so we'll let you through," the louder voice said, breaking the silence with his booming tenor.

Suddenly, the gate that stood between us and entering the guild slowly rose, revealing a ladder that led downwards. "ENTER!" The voice boomed.

Aria stood frozen, staring at the gate for a second, then broke out into a wide grin, pumping her paw into the air. "Yyyes! We did it, Dan!" She exclaimed happily, her eyes shining with excitement. Her smile was infectious, and I couldn't help but smile back, laughing as she jumped up and down with happiness. I stepped off the grate and went to stand next to her. "Fuck yeah, we did!" I agreed, still watching her jump. "C'mon c'mon c'mon! Let's go, we don't have all day!" She exclaimed before bounding towards the ladder and quickly starting to descend downwards into the guild.

I chuckled lightly at my new partner's antics. 'She's gonna be the death of me, I can tell,' I shook my head, following her down the ladder.

* * *

Walking down a ladder with four paws instead of a pair of hands and feet was about as hard as you'd think it'd be.

I silently cursed as my lower left paw missed the next rung for what seemed like the millionth time. "Damnit, who even thought this was a good idea?" I muttered angrily as I missed another rung. Make that a million and one. The ladder seemed like it went on forever. 'At least it's at a slight angle instead of just straight down. That would suck,' I thought, missing another rung. A million and two.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally reached solid ground, and I sighed in relief. Hopefully I won't have to do that too much.

 _Oh, if only I knew._

"Woah..." I heard Aria whisper behind me. And, turning around, I couldn't help but agree with her.

Pokémon of all shapes and sizes were scattered around, talking with what must've been their teammates. A couple Pokémon I've seen before, but others... I don't have a damn clue. There was a big blue bird with a white underbelly talking with a smaller red and white worm (Talk about ironic...), and even a lobster talking with a fucking sunflower. 'Jesus, I forgot how weird Pokémon is.'

Still, even if I didn't recognize most of the Pokémon, it was still a pretty incredible sight. I looked over to Aria, who looked like she might literally explode from excitement. She was looking around at the other Pokémon, stars in her eyes and the biggest smile I've ever seen on her face. She turned to me, the stars never leaving her eyes. "Isn't this amazing, Dan? I can't believe we're here!" She exclaimed. I chuckled at her expression, then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it does look really cool," I said, walking alongside her into the center of the big room where some bricks were scattered in what looked like an attempt at pavement. 'Looks kinda unfinished, though...'

"Ahem!~"

I blinked at the voice directed at us. Aria mirrored me as we both turned around to take a look at whoever got our attention.

I struggled not to laugh at the weird bird in front of us. He looked... awesome. His head was shaped like a fucking music note, and the way the feathers on his wings were colored made it look like he was wearing a blazer.

He looked between the two of us. "You two are the ones who just came in, hm?" He asked in that high-pitched, fancy-pants accent. You know the one!

I nodded. "Actually, yeah, we were- wait, how'd you know we came in?!" I asked, confused. He didn't sound anything like the two guys that identified us by our feet back at the front. Still don't get that...

He chuckled lightly. "I'm sort of in the know around here. The name's Chatot, and I'm the assistant to Guildmaster Wigglytuff." He greeted, gesturing to himself with his right wing.

The assistant to the guildmaster? I was about to ask him about what he meant by that, but he cut me off before I could say anything. "Now, shoo! Leave the premises at once! We have no time for salespeople or silly surveys," he said, waving with his wings at us as if to literally shoo us away.

Me and Aria blinked, then glanced at each other. "Uh," I started. "That's not why we're here."

He paused at that, now looking confused. "... what else would you be here for?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

Aria groaned, exasperated. "To become an Exploration Team! What else?!" She exclaimed. I smirked. 'Guess I'm rubbing off on her already... nice.'

He jumped at that, wings flapping in alarm. "Wh-WHAT?!" He yelled, seemingly not expecting such a thing to even be spoken of. He quickly turned around soon after. "They want to apprentice under the guild? But..." he paused for a second. "They seem a little young for how rigorous our training is..."

At the mention of young, I seethed under my fur. 'I'm not too young! I'm damn near forty!' I paused, then shivered. 'Jesus, I'm almost forty...'

Chatot continued to mutter with himself. "Surely, the steady stream of recruits running out of the guild would give them a hint?" He said. It was almost like he forgot we were even here.

Aria shifted nervously. "Er, is the training to be an Exploration Team really that difficult?" She asked, an uncertain look on her face. I couldn't blame her. Chatot made it seem like being an Exploration Team was really hard.

He suddenly jumped again at the question, turning back to us once more. "N-no! No no! The training here is as easy as can be!" He exclaimed, trying to dissuade any doubts we had. Not working. 'This guy... he's pretty fucking eccentric,'

Then, in almost the blink of an eye, his expression went from panicked to happy, his tail and head bobbing in unison. "So! You want to be an Exploration Team, hm?~" He asked in a sing-songy voice. I nodded slowly, not really liking this bird dude at all. 'Eccentric and Bipolar... Jesus, I hope this is the only guy like that...'

Aria turned to me, her face saying everything about how off-put she was by Chatot. "That was a complete 180 in his attitude! What is up with this guy?" She whispered. I nodded in agreement. "I'm pretty sure this guy's bipolar." I whispered back. She snorted, struggling to hold in a laugh.

Chatot tittered, and we turned our attention, our very limited attention, back to him. "I wish you would've told me up front you want to form a Team,"

Okay, now this guy was starting to piss me off. 'Don't push this on us! You're the one who assumed that we were fucking salespeople!' I thought angrily. 'I have half a mind to just walk the fuck out right now!'

He nodded to himself. "Well, come along! We'll complete the registration down below." And with that, he turned around once more, walking towards another hole in the ground, probably leading down to the bottom floor.

Me and Aria just stood there.

Chatot seemed to notice this, turning around to face us again, this time with a neutral look. "Well? I don't have all day, you know!" He said, beckoning us forward.

We glanced at each other, uncertainty clouding our faces, before reluctantly following.

I suddenly paused. "Wait," Chatot stooped once more, turning to me with a questioning look. "... does that mean I have to go down more ladders?" I asked, 100% serious.

"Er," he stared at me strangely. "Yes?"

"... _Shit_."

* * *

"Damnit, damnit, god, fuck..."

Im starting to fucking hate ladders.

"Ow, okay, this is getting ridiculous..." fucking splinters...

Once again, I finally reached solid ground, sighing in relief. 'How the fuck is climbing down ladders more stressful than battling other Pokémon?'

Aria looked at me, concerned. "Uh... are you alright, Dan?" She asked. I nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a splinter is all."

Aria laughed at that. "Geez, ladders really don't like you, huh?"

I chuckled along with her. "You could say that,"

Chatot cleared his throat, and we paused before turning our attention back to him. He seemed a little miffed. "This is the ground floor. You'll be doing most of you apprentice work down here." He explained, gesturing to the larger room around us. 'Huh. This place is a lot bigger than I thought.' I mused, looking around the sunlit area. Two halls opened up on each side of the wider room. One smelled almost sweet, while the other smelled... homey? It was hard to explain.

Then I realized what I just did. 'Did... did I just smell the halls all the way from the other side of the room?' I looked down at my right paw. 'This world has changed me way more than I first thought...'

"Chatot! I'm back!" A new voice called from the hall on the left, abruptly breaking me out of my thoughts.

Said bird blinked in surprise, turning to the source. He smiled as he saw who it was. "Ah, Jasmine! Welcome back," He greeted, waving at the jackal currently running towards us. It was about as tall as Chatot, with blue and black fur covering it's body. Black furred, floppy ear-thingies flowed out the sides of it's head, and the black fur around it's eyes made it look like it was wearing a mask. 'Heh. Kinda reminds me of a raccoon,' I thought, observing the new comer as she jogged over towards us.

Chatot cleared his throat, putting a feathered fist to his beak as he did so. "So, how did the mission to Apple Woods go?" He asked, seemingly nervous all of a sudden.

The jackal stopped in front of us, suddenly saluting with it's left hand. "The mission was a success!" She exclaimed happily, stopping her salute and pulling out a brown satchel that looked filled to the brim with... were those apples?

Chatot sighed in relief at the sight. "Oh, thank goodness... the Guildmaster will be most pleased."

The now named "Jasmine" frowned at that, nodding in agreement as she slipped her satchel back over her shoulder. "You can say that again..." she said, shivering slightly.

I looked at the exchange, confused. 'Is the Guildmaster really that terrifying? I mean his name is fucking Wigglytuff. If that doesn't scream silly, I don't know what does.'

Chatot chuckled off the nervousness. "Well, I'm glad that you got back without any complications."

Jasmine paused at that. "Er... well..."

Chatot blinked. "Hm? Did something happen during your mission?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"At the Perfect Apple tree, a HUGE Exeggutor showed up, claiming he was the Guardian of the Tree, or whatever. Why didn't you tell me about this? I almost died out there!" She exclaimed, now looking more angry than sheepish.

Chatot suddenly jumped back, flapping his wings in alarm. "WH-WHAT?!" He yelled, extremely shocked. "B-but there were no reports of any dangerous Pokémon in that area! That should be impossible!" He explained. Jasmine shook her head in reply. "Seemed possible to me. If not for Arin, I probably wouldn't have been able to defeat it," she said.

I froze. 'Wait a sec... Arin?' "Did you say Arin?" I asked quickly, my eyes wide. Please, please tell me Arin's alright. The jackal blinked. "Uh... yeah."

Her eyes widened. "Wait, are you... no way. You're Dan, aren't you?" She asked.

That confirmed it. Aria glanced between me and Jasmine. "Wait, do you two know each other?" She asked, confused.

I ignored her question for now. "Yes! Yes, I am, where is he? Is he alright?" I asked, starting to get frantic. She raised both hands up. "Woah, calm down. He's in the other room right now. Said he needed some time to rest a by after the warp here. I'm guessing he's never done it before," she explained, gesturing to the other hall she ran in from.

As if on cue, out came another Pokémon. This one looked like a black and blue furred lion cub, big round ears were on either side of it's head, with two large tufts of fur sprouting from it's chin. Black fur surrounded it's neck and the back part of it's body. A tail sprouted from it's back, black in color and a yellow star on it's tip. What really caught my attention, however, was the long strands of fur on top of it's head that almost looked like hair. It was just a few, but one of them was yellow in color. What also caught my attention was the multitude of burn marks scattered across his body. I cringed at his injuries.

"Okay... okay, I think I won't puke out everything now..." Arin said, shakily walking over.

"ARIN!" I yelled, starting to sprint over to him. He whipped his head around to face me, his eyes wide with surprise. "Da- WAGH!" He grunted as I tackled him to the ground. I pinned his upper paws to the floor, and I growled down at him. "Arin. Arin, I swear to fucking God, I could kill you right now," I playfully threatened, trying to sound and look as serious as possible. His surprised expression contorted to one of confusion, and a little bit of fear. "Dan- Wha-"

I looked at his face. His stupid face.

And burst out laughing, releasing him from his temporary prison.

Arin looked at me with a surprised look, before softening into a smile, then a laugh as well.

"Dude, your fucking face was amazing!" I said between laughs. "Well, it's not my fault I thought you were gonna actually fucking kill me," he chuckled, scooping his hair/fur out of his eyes.

Aria, Jasmine and Chatot looked at our exchange with a mixture of confusion, amusement and surprise. "They seem... happy... to see each other," Aria whispered to Jasmine, who snorted in return. "Heh. They seem really friendly with each other." She joked. Aria snickered.

Eventually Me and Arin's (Arin and I? Ah, whatever,) laughing died down, and we simply stared at each other, stupid grins on our faces. "... I'm glad you're okay, man." I said, getting back up on my paws. Arin nodded in agreement, also moving to get up. "Me too. That was scary as fuck." He agreed. I walked up to him, paw extended. And I bopped him on the head. Arin flinched at the contact. "Ow! What the-" he protested. "That's for scaring the fuck out of me, dude." I said, laughing. He half-scoffed in reply, his grin never wavering.

Chatot cleared his throat again, catching both of our attentions. "We still have to register your team, preferably today. If you must continue your reunion, please do so _after_ we finish the process, please!" He said, looking a little ticked off. "Oh! Uh, sorry," I said sheepishly. Arin blinked at that. "Wait, team? What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

My mouth formed an 'O' shape. "Right, you don't know. Well, me and Aria here," I gestured to my partner standing by Jasmine, who waved back happily in reply. "Are going to form an Exploration Team. It's a pretty sick job from what I've seen." I explained. Arin's eyes widened. "Dude, really? That's awesome!"

Chatot cleared his throat again, louder this time. I grimaced. "Er, right. Sorry," I apologized, walking over to where Chatot and Aria were standing. Chatot tightly nodded. "Right. Well," He walked towards a big wooden door sitting innocently to the left. "This is Guildmaster Wigglytuff's chambers." He turned to us, suddenly even more serious than he already was. "You must not, I repeat, you must not, under any circumstances, be discourteous to our Guildmaster."

I swallowed nervously. 'Why does this dude sound so terrifying?'

Chatot turned back to the door, took a deep breath, and slowly knocked on the door a couple times. "Guildmaster? It's me, Chatot! I'm coming in!~" He said, reverting back to his chipper persona. And with that, he pushed open the door, the hinges creaking with age as it revealed it's interior. "Wait!"

The bird sighed wearily, muttering under his breath. "At this rate, we'll be done with the registration by nightfall..." He turned to Arin, looking miffed as ever. "Yes? what is it?"

"I want to join their team as an apprentice, too!" He exclaimed. Chatot blinked in surprise. "Really? Hm..." He turned away from us once more as the door shut naturally in front of him. "This certainly complicates things... I'll have to have Loudred prepare another bed in the room and another seat at the dinner table," He muttered. He turned back to Arin, not looking mad anymore, simply neutral. "Yes, without a problem! We're always open to new recruits," he said happily, his tail and head bobbing to a rhythm once again. Suddenly, Jasmine cleared her throat. Chatot looked towards her. "Is something the matter, Jasmine?" She shook her head. "I wish to join their team, as well."

This time, Chatot looked extremely surprised, as did everyone else. "Wh-WHAT?! But..." He flapped his wings in alarm. "You already do stellar work for this guild as a solo apprentice! Surely, you don't need to join this new team?" He said, trying to persuade her out of it. Jasmine nodded in agreement. "That's true, which means they could use someone like me to show them the ropes and help them along. Besides, didn't you say when I started here that I could merge with any team I choose when I feel the time is right?"

Chatot paused at that. "That... That's true..." He reluctantly admitted, though he still looked uncertain as he debated with himself internally.

Aria seemed to be happy with this turn of events. "Wow, we already have a full team! This is going better than I thought it would," she whispered to me. I smiled at her excitement. "It'll probably make things a lot easier on us, that's for sure," I agreed.

Chatot sighed in resignation. "Alright... I suppose it would be easier for you to teach them what to do. You know how busy I am with the other teams," He said. Jasmine grinned. "Then it's settled," She suddenly pulled the four of us close together, causing us to yell in surprise at the contact. "The four of us will register as a new team together!"

Chatot grinned at the new teammates before turning back to the wooden door, lightly laughing under his breath. "I swear, these new recruits get crazier and crazier..." He muttered, opening the doors once more.

'Hey! The only one allowed to call me crazy is Arin and _maybe_ Ross,' I thought to myself, following him into the larger chamber.

* * *

The Guildmaster's chambers was... interesting.

Two chests sat on either side of the room, filled to the brim with... berries? 'Why berries?' Torches sat the side of the chest, probably to light the room when the sun went down. Speaking of sun, light spewed out of the windows on the sides of the chamber, illuminating the room with natural light. Some pavement was placed in the center of the room, though like the upper floor it looked unfinished. 'I guess it holds a certain rustic charm.' Flowers bloomed from the grass covering the floor. 'They got the 'natural' look down to a T,' I mused, batting one to the side with my paw as the four of us stood side by and side on the pavement, facing... the Guildmaster? A pink blob with feet, arms and ears stood with it's back turned to us, staring at the design placed on the wall, an elaborate carpet underneath it's feet.

Chatot cleared his throat for what seemed like the twentieth time. "Guildmaster, I present to you the _four_ Pokémon that wish to join our guild as a new Exploration Team."

The pink blob didn't respond.

Chatot blinked. "Guildmaster?... Er... Guildmaster..."

"Do you think he's dead?" Arin whispered to me. I snickered quietly in reply.

Suddenly, the blob did a complete 180 in about a split second to face us. "Hiya!" he greeted.

All of us, save Chatot and Jasmine, jumped back in alarm. "Wagh, Jesus!" I exclaimed.

"I'm Wigglytuff!" The _thing_ greeted, it's eyes wide and unmoving. I struggled to look at it's face for longer than five seconds. 'Oh, fuck, I understand why they're terrified of him,' I said. His coloration was so happy and pink, but his eyes... oh, God, his eyes. His eyes were like dead pools of saltwater, they were big and bright, but they showed no emotion _at all._ And it was _terrifying._ It was like looking into the abyss.

"I'm the Guild's Guildmaster!" He greeted. We listened on in fear. "You want to form an Exploration Team?" We nodded quickly. "Then let's go for it! First, we must register your Exploration Team's name!"

I blinked. "Oh, shit, I didn't even think of that..." Chatot glared at me. " _Language_!" He hissed. I grimaced, mouthing 'sorry!' back to him. He just narrowed his eyes and nodded firmly.

Aria closed her eyes, thinking. "Hm... any ideas, guys?" She asked, turning to the three of us. Arin hummed in thought, and Jasmine put a hand to her chin. 'Hmm... a team name... a team name...' I thought to myself, racking my brain for any ideas.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aria perk up. "How about Team Rocket?" She suggested. I blanched, and Arin's eyes widened. 'How in the fuck...?' "Er, well, that's kind of generic, I'd rather have a more... unique, name than that," I said, turning to Arin. He nodded quickly in agreement. "I-I'm with Dan on this one."

Aria and Jasmine looked confused at our reactions, but shrugged it off, once again starting to think.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God... I really don't want the same name as an evil team," I whispered to Arin. He snickered. "That's for sure, what are the chances that she'd suggest _that_?" I shrugged. "I don't know, but it's pretty funny," Arin laughed silently alongside me.

Suddenly, Arin gasped lightly to himself. I furrowed my brow. "What? You've got something?" I asked. He nodded, looking over to Jasmine and Aria, who were still deep in thought. He cleared his throat, catching their attention. "You've got one, Arin?" Jasmine inquired. "How about Team Starbomb?" He said. A wide grin spread across my muzzle. 'Arin, you're a fucking genius.' "I'm down with that!" I exclaimed, patting him on the back. "Nice one," I whispered to him. He flashed a smile to me.

Aria furrowed her brow. "Team Starbomb..." Another smile found it's way onto her face. "Team Starbomb! I like it!" She agreed, her eyes twinkling with delight. Jasmine crossed her arms, nodding. "I second that. I'll admit that name does have a certain charm to it," She said. Arin smirked. "Why, thank you," He replied, mimicking a suave voice.

"All settled, then!" Wigglytuff said, forcing us to look into his dead eyes once again. I shivered lightly. "I'll register your team as Starbomb."

"Registering!~ Registering!~" He hummed a little tune to himself, but he did nothing else. 'How... how is that registering a team? He's just humming to himself... fucking hell, whatever, I'm not even gonna question these things anymore,'

Wigglytuff stopped humming, nodding his head once. "All registered..." He said, crouching down slowly. "YOOM... TAH!" He yelled loudly, causing us to jump back in alarm as he did a backflip into the air, landing perfectly on his feet, and throwing his arms into the air. We stared on in shock. 'What. What the fuck.'

"Congratulations!" He said happily, though his emotion never reached his eyes. "From now on, you're an official exploration team."

"I present you with this in commemoration." And with that, he walked forward towards us. I resisted the urge to back up in fear. 'Okay, he's getting closer, he's probably gonna kill us, okay,' I thought, panicking in my mind as sweat started to form on my forehead. Then with a flourish, he placed a golden colored box on the ground in front of us, with the words "Pokémon Exploration Team Kit" engraved on the lid. I blinked. 'Oh. That was... anticlimactic.'

Aria looked at the box with wonder. "A Pokémon Exploration Team Kit?" She asked, looking back up to the Guildmaster. Said Guildmaster nodded. "Yep! It's what every exploration team needs," He answered, gesturing to the box. "Quick, open it up!"

We nodded, and with Aria in the lead, we watched as the Eevee unlocked the small lock and pried the box open. Inside the box was a lot less glamorous than the outside. She puled out three badges, the same as what Jasmine was currently wearing on her little satchel. 'Must be identification for a team or something,' I thought, looking at the pink colored badges. Next she pulled out a map that was tied together with a little band. Finally, she pulled out a brown bag. It was similar to Jasmine's, but it was about twice the size of hers.

Jasmine was awed at the items. "Wow... there's all sorts of great stuff in here!" She said, holding up the new badges. Me and Arin took one, inspecting the badges. It was a small badge, about the size of a fifty-cent coin, with small golden wings sprouting out the side and a pink gem in the middle. 'Heh. Kinda looks like a Pokéball,' I mused, turning it to view it at all angles.

Wigglytuff chuckled at Aria's reaction. Then he pointed to the badge she was currently holding up. "That's your Explorer badge! It's your team identification!"

I nodded as I listened. 'So it _was_ basically an ID...'

He pointed at the map next. "That's the Wonder Map, which is a wonder of convenience!" I snorted at the pun. "Finally, your Treasure Bag. It allows you to hold items you find in dungeons! Your success as an Exploration Team will lead to more and more space for your Treasure Bag!" He explained.

I looked at the bag, confused. 'Wait, so the more shit we do, the more stuff we can hold in the bag? How does that work? Is it one of those 'bigger on the inside' deals?' I shook my head. 'Goddamn, this world is confusing...'

He continued. "Why don't you look inside your bag?" Wigglytuff said, gesturing to the brown bag. We all glanced at each other, confused, before Aria took initiative and unclipped the latch to open the bag. Inside the bag was a little band that was red in color, with a 'P' engraved on the side. There were also two bows inside, one a bright blue and the other a deep pink. I grabbed the pink bow, and almost instantly I could feel something... It was like the bow resonated with my soul. Sounds weird, I know, but that was the only other way to describe the feeling. I could tell Arin felt the same why about the sky blue bow, his face scrunching up in confusion as soon as he touched it.

"Those three items are special," Wigglytuff said, referring to the band and the two bows. "I'm sure they will help you on your adventures!~" Aria nodded rapidly. "Thank you so much!" She said, genuinely grateful. "I promise, we won't let you guys down!" I nodded in agreement. "We'll be the best Exploration Team you've ever seen, just you wait!" Wigglytuff chuckled heartily at that. I smiled at his reaction. 'Maybe this Wigglytuff guy isn't so bad...'

His smile grew wider. "Yup! But you're only apprenticing right now, so do your best..." He raised a tiny fist. "To train!"

Aria nodded once more. "Of course!" She turned to the three of us. "Let's always do our best, no matter what, team!" She exclaimed, obviously extremely excited. We nodded in agreement. "Right!" We said in unison.

"Congratulations, you four!" Chatot piped up, gazing at us with pride. We turned to him, putting our badges into the Treasure Bag for safe keeping. "Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to your room." He looked to Jasmine. "You, however, will be in your same room. I hope this is okay with you?" He asked. Jasmine nodded. "Yep. Don't wanna get too cramped in there," She replied.

Chatot tittered. "Well, right this way, you four!" He said, waving us over as he turned to leave the Guildmaster's Chambers. We quickly followed behind him. Even if this Wigglytuff guy wasn't as bad as I thought, I don't think I can take much more of his high-pitched voice.

* * *

We followed Chatot down the first hallway that Jasmine and Arin came out of, silently pacing behind him. We passed by four other rooms, once of which Jasmine turned into, bidding us a goodnight. 'Well, now we know where she'll be staying.' That left just the three of us as we finally reached the end of the hallway, which held a decent sized circular area. Three... 'beds', if you could even call them that, were positioned in a triangular formation around the room. They were more like just piles of hay. To the left sat a circular window, which filtered in the soothing light of the moon and the stars. My eyes widened. "Dang, we were in here for longer than I thought..." I muttered. Arin nodded in agreement.

Chatot cleared his throat once more. "This is your room!~" He said in a sing-song voice, gesturing to the room in front of us. We each trudged over to one of the beds, Aria taking the furthest bed, Arin taking the bed to the left, and I took the bed closest to the door. "Yay! We get beds!" Aria exclaimed happily, doing a little spin on her pile of hay. 'Huh. These are more comfortable than I thought,' They felt like just a big pillow, perfect size for our newly transformed bodies. I sighed happily as I layed down onto the hay, the stress of the day practically melting off of my back and legs. "This is where you'll be living while you work for us." Chatot explained. I half-listened, just enjoying the unexpected plushness of the bed. "Things will start getting busy for you tomorrow, so don't stay up to late! You need to wake up bright and early for the day!" He said. "Goodnight, you three!" And with that, he finally left us three alone. "Oh, thank god..." I said in relief. "I was getting tired of listening to him drone on and on..."

Aria chuckled. "That's for sure. That was a lot of information to take in." Arin nodded silently, looking extremely tired. My new partner sighed in relief similarly to me when she laid down. "But I'm glad I forced myself to come here. I thought Wigglytuff was gonna be scary, but he was pretty nice,"

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. He's just... a lot to handle, I guess."

"Mmm."

Aria yawned tiredly. "We have a big day tomorrow... We should probably get some sleep. Goodnight, Dan..." She said tiredly, her eyes drooping. I smiled at her. "Night, Aria."

She didn't say anything after that, her and Arin's light breathing filling the soft silence. I sighed. '... This is so weird. I'm supposed to be back on Earth, hanging out with Arin and doing stupid shit, but...' I glanced at Aria. 'I can't help but feel that I'm doing the right thing. It feels like I'm... meant to do this with her.'

I groaned in annoyance, putting a paw to my face. 'This is so _confusing..._ why does this feel _right?_ '

I yawned tiredly, my eyes drooping. 'This can wait... right now, I just need... to sleep...'

Darkness enveloped my vision.

* * *

 **And there's Chapter 2. The next chapter that I'll post will be the first day in the guild, and their first mission to Drenched Bluff. I had a lot of fun with this chapter, describing Wigglytuff was definitely my favorite part. This was supposed to be just an intermission chapter between Beach Cave and Drenched Bluff, but I kinda got carried away.**

 **Whoops?**

 **Most of the time spent on this chapter was the team name, I spent like three days trying to figure out a name for them, but Starbomb was just too perfect a name to pass up.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading. I'll try to get the next chapter out sometime in October, so stay tuned. If you see anything wrong with this story or want to leave your thoughts, be sure to leave a review. Anything is appreciated.**


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